"Story's over, right? Then I'm done here."
"Hey, wait! You little...!"
Ignoring the tattooed man, I grabbed the door handle of the building.
He lunged to grab me and stop me, but his hand flailed uselessly in the air.
The system must have blocked physical contact entirely.
I let out a deliberate "pfft" of laughter at the sight, then flung the door wide open.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Main Quest 'Acquire a Home' completed. Quest reward: Granted ownership of this residential area and entry restriction rights. Others can be banished from the residential area or denied entry via voice commands.
My eyes lit up at the system messages.
The exterior was a bit overly antique, but the features were perfect.
A personal space where unwanted guests couldn't even enter? Privacy like this was priceless in a world that had stripped it away.
While I admired it, the tattooed man crept up and gnashed his teeth.
"Fuck! Are you ignoring me!? I said don't go in...!"
"Banish."
Fwoosh!
"...!?"
I muttered the simple command as a test, and suddenly the tattooed man was outside the building.
While he stood there dazed, I immediately issued the next one.
"That pig is banned from entry."
"You bastard, to the end!"
Thud!
"Guhk!?"
The command took effect instantly.
The tattooed man, mid-charge, slammed into an invisible wall and tumbled backward.
He'd hit it hard enough that he lay there stunned for a while.
"This is seriously great."
I ignored the fallen man and shut the door.
A moment later, I heard him yelling something after coming to.
But it sounded faint, like he was shouting from far away.
The system hadn't mentioned it, but soundproofing was apparently included.
With its flawless functionality, I leisurely began exploring my temporary residence.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
'Not bad at all.'
The Roman-style building was way better than I'd expected.
The bed and blankets especially seemed superior to what I'd had in my studio apartment.
This was definitely better than a powerless, waterless home.
While I toured the place, more survivors kept trickling in from outside.
"Fuck, finally after all that!"
"This the spot? Looks like a safe zone."
The newcomers' reactions varied wildly.
Some arrived exhausted, others with some composure left.
Many seemed unfamiliar with manipulating their status windows.
'Not all beta testers, huh.'
If anything, beta testers seemed rarer.
With experience, you'd arrive casually—and including me, there were only three like that.
Most had picked classes on the spot with cards and started at level 1.
And every time a survivor arrived, the tattooed man predictably started trouble.
"Freeze! This is my friends'..."
"What bullshit? Get out of the way."
"Stop! Enter and you're dead!"
"Why don't you stop your ugly mug instead."
"If you don't quit right now...!"
"What're you gonna do, punk? Wanna fight?"
"...."
None of the five survivors who'd entered the safe zone backed down to his threats.
They ignored him or scoffed as they pushed past.
One even drew a weapon first, aiming to kill him.
The system blocked it, unfortunately.
"These fuckers all look down on me...!"
"Calm down, piggy. You'll boil into pork stew."
"Shut up! You're next!"
"You shut it. Think those people are scared of you?"
I smirked at the fuming tattooed man.
He wanted to carve out a spot in the new world without even grasping how it'd changed.
"Those people all fought goblins, smashing their skulls with weapons. Combatants. So what gives you the balls to threaten them?"
"Fuck, so what? Think I haven't killed? Think I can't stab?"
"Oh, so two combatants now? You'll stab each other if it kicks off. No one's bowing to threats here."
"...."
He shut his mouth, catching my implication.
Just reaching here proved familiarity with fighting and killing.
Moral standards had plummeted, and they had combat confidence to boot.
Would they meekly submit to threats from such people?
'As if. Not when they're armed.'
Layered atop that: pent-up resentment from societal bullshit.
Missing or dead family in the upheaval.
Anxiety over an uncertain future.
A powder keg begging to explode—and he threatens it?
Practically advertising "kill me."
"The more I see, the shorter your lifespan looks. Not to monsters—to some human swinging a weapon at your skull."
"Sh-shut up!"
"Oh, and don't forget—I'm gunning for you too. Step outside the safe zone, and I'll follow and end you."
"...!"
I left the paling tattooed man and headed back inside.
The quest was paused for now, but who knew when another would pop up.
Better rest up fully beforehand.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...Only ten more arrived?"
Waking from a nap, I counted the newcomers and was stunned. Fifteen total safe arrivals in this huge neighborhood.
Even accounting for other safe zones scattered around, it was too few.
Hell, survivors had claimed the best houses, and two were still left over.
'Didn't expect them to sit tight till evening.'
It was midsummer with unnaturally long days anyway.
At least ten hours till dark.
Yet only fifteen trickled in right before sunset.
After ten hours, most chose hiding over moving.
"Makes sense, but... is this really okay?"
The World Rebuild I knew wasn't kind to the complacent.
And this was the 'day of the end' itself.
Would 'apocalypse' really end with just goblins?
Especially since goblins were the weakest foes.
'Goblins are beatable by civilians. If the system threw only those for 'apocalypse,' intent's clear.'
Not the true end's start—a light cull before it.
A minor crisis to filter the proactive.
Those with drive and ambition wouldn't die pointlessly.
And they're all in safe zones now.
'System's given up on the idle ones.'
But manpower's essential for rebuilding civilization, expectations aside.
If they won't come, it'll drag them forcibly into villages.
And I doubted it'd be gentle.
It would've long finished selecting the valuable ones.
As red sunset faded and skies turned violet:
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Sufficient time has passed since the start of the apocalypse. Main Quest 'Find Shelter' deleted due to time limit exceeded. 'Curse: Sloth' forcibly applied to those whose quests were deleted. Monster Waves will now occur at regular intervals. The cursed constellation has awakened the dead. 'Undead Wave' begins.
"...!"
My prediction hit dead-on, sadly.
As the rapid-fire messages ended, countless bones materialized from the ground.
They assembled midair into human skeletons.
No flesh, muscle, or organs—just bones moving as humanoid monsters.
"S-Skeletons!"
"What the fuck!"
"What's this now!?"
Survivors freaked, yanking weapons from inventories and gripping tight.
The empty streets had filled with sword-wielding bone monsters, after all.
Tension hung briefly, but skeletons kept their distance from the village.
They retreated if they accidentally approached.
"What? They ain't coming?"
"Right, this is a safe zone."
"Phew, false alarm."
Survivors relaxed, stowing weapons with relieved faces.
But seconds later, the mood froze solid again.
-Aaaagh! Help! Somebody help meee!
-Run! Out the front door, run!
-N-No, stay back! Coming here means big trou—grrrk!
-Dad! You fucking bastards! Aak! Aaagh!
Screams, sobs, and shouts echoed from all directions.
Like when goblins spawned earlier.
But the screams were different.
These weren't mere terror—they were death rattles from the wounded dying.
"Huff! Pant! S-Save me! Please, save me!"
Then, a man sprinted toward us from afar.
Good night vision—he'd spotted the village from way off.
Heading here wasn't wrong, but timing sucked.
Kikikik
Clack clack
As he neared, red lights flashed in the sockets of surrounding skeletons.
They swarmed, blocking and encircling the running man.
He desperately tried slipping through, but there were too many.
"Agh! Get away! Get away, you monster shits—kraaagh!"
Splat!
"...!"
With a tearing scream, his right arm flew into the air.
A skeleton had swung the sword in its hand.
Village survivors gawked at the sight.
Unlike feeble goblins, the swing had real power and speed.
It looked no different from a fit adult man's strike.
"Aaagh! Help! Hel—aaaagh!"
Splat! Splat! Splat!
Despite his screams, the skeletons silently hacked away.
They backed off only when the cries faded.
"Oh my god...!"
"Urk! Blugh!"
People recoiled in horror at the mangled corpse.
Some dry-heaved; others actually puked.
Even after killing goblins to get here, a human body was different.
Especially one butchered that brutally.
Even I, with iron guts, was speechless for a moment.
Meanwhile, death rattles and screams continued everywhere.
'Apocalypse.'
The word I'd taken lightly grew heavy in an instant.
To non-beta tester civilians, this was the end of the world.
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